April 5, 2008 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Web host Advanced Internet Technologies (AIT) is being sued for libel, it was announced recently. The company, and its CEO and Founder Mr. Clarence Briggs, are being sued by the parent company of The Fayetteville Observer. In addition, IGeryon Inc. – another company led by Mr. Briggs - and Click Defense Inc. and its CEO Mr. Scott Boyenger, are also named in the action.
The lawsuit suggests AIT damaged The Fayetteville Observer’s reputation claiming it had inflated its website viewer and ad-click statistics, therefore defrauding its advertisers. Comments to this effect were circulated in press releases and mentioned on the IGeryon and Click Defense websites.
The two entities have a history of legal action against each other. AIT initially hosted Fayetteville Publishing’s newspaper websites but refused to return the company’s computers, claiming they housed evidence of Fayetteville Publishing’s click fraud. The publisher sued for the return of its computers and AIT countersued. The computers were returned and AIT’s counter case dismissed. AIT then sued Fayetteville Publishing for libel, but later dropped the action.
“The bottom line is you guys committed click-fraud and now you’re giving us the opportunity to prove it, so there must be a lot of worried people at FPC (Fayetteville Publishing),” Mr. Briggs is reported as saying.
